Bank of Montreal Can Lowers Position in Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT)

Bank of Montreal Can lowered its position in Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT - Free Report) by 5.7% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 850,002 shares of the industrial products company's stock after selling 50,969 shares during the quarter. Bank of Montreal Can owned about 0.18% of Caterpillar worth $308,347,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of CAT. Nordea Investment Management AB increased its position in shares of Caterpillar by 1.6% during the 4th quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 635,750 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $231,686,000 after purchasing an additional 10,212 shares during the last quarter. West Wealth Group LLC acquired a new position in shares of Caterpillar in the 4th quarter worth approximately $230,000. Cadinha & Co. LLC purchased a new position in shares of Caterpillar during the 4th quarter worth approximately $11,084,000. Atomi Financial Group Inc. increased its holdings in Caterpillar by 3.9% in the 4th quarter. Atomi Financial Group Inc. now owns 23,193 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $8,414,000 after purchasing an additional 871 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Copley Financial Group Inc. purchased a new stake in Caterpillar in the third quarter valued at approximately $800,000. 70.98% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Caterpillar news, insider Jason Kaiser sold 2,425 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $354.70, for a total transaction of $860,147.50. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 6,275 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,225,742.50. This trade represents a 27.87 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director Gerald Johnson bought 100 shares of Caterpillar stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 4th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $365.57 per share, with a total value of $36,557.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now directly owns 3,053 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,116,085.21. The trade was a 3.39 % increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 0.29% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Caterpillar Stock Up 1.4 %

Caterpillar stock traded up $4.19 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $293.35. The company had a trading volume of 3,197,039 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,625,986. The company has a quick ratio of 0.89, a current ratio of 1.42 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.40. Caterpillar Inc. has a 1 year low of $267.30 and a 1 year high of $418.50. The business has a fifty day moving average of $333.97 and a 200 day moving average of $367.17. The stock has a market cap of $140.20 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.29, a PEG ratio of 1.87 and a beta of 1.21.

Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The industrial products company reported $5.14 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $4.97 by $0.17. Caterpillar had a net margin of 16.65% and a return on equity of 58.18%. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Caterpillar Inc. will post 19.86 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Caterpillar Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, May 20th. Investors of record on Monday, April 21st will be given a $1.41 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, April 21st. This represents a $5.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.92%. Caterpillar's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 25.56%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Evercore ISI lifted their price objective on Caterpillar from $365.00 to $375.00 and gave the company an "in-line" rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 19th. Bank of America dropped their target price on Caterpillar from $452.00 to $414.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, January 31st. UBS Group raised shares of Caterpillar from a "sell" rating to a "neutral" rating and raised their price objective for the company from $355.00 to $385.00 in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Caterpillar from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 25th. Finally, Truist Financial decreased their price target on shares of Caterpillar from $438.00 to $389.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, Caterpillar presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $373.20.

Caterpillar Profile

Caterpillar Inc manufactures and sells construction and mining equipment, off-highway diesel and natural gas engines, industrial gas turbines, and diesel-electric locomotives in worldwide. Its Construction Industries segment offers asphalt pavers, compactors, road reclaimers, forestry machines, cold planers, material handlers, track-type tractors, excavators, telehandlers, motor graders, and pipelayers; compact track, wheel, track-type, backhoe, and skid steer loaders; and related parts and tools.